Alexis' Prayer
by voldemortsgirl
Summary: Andrew, Monica, and Tess must try to reach the suicidal daughter of a mafia leader.
1. Chapter One

The caseworkers stood outside an abandoned warehouse building. Monica shivered.  
  
"Why are we here, Tess?"  
  
Andrew looked at Tess.  
  
"You need to figure out your assignment, Angel babies."  
  
Andrew looked ruefully at the building.  
  
"Here, Tess?" he asked.  
  
Tess nodded. "Here, Angel boy. Watch."  
  
They watched as a black limo pulled up in front of the warehouse. The door opened, and three men, dressed all in black, stepped out. They were carrying rifles. The door of a limo opened and a tall, balding man stepped out. He quickly embraced the three men.  
  
"I'm glad you have come." He said. He had a thick Italian accent.  
  
The man in the middle nodded at the car.  
  
"You got the girl?" he asked.  
  
The bald man nodded. "Yes."  
  
The man on the left looked to the car also. "Are you sure you want to do this, sir? She's still young."  
  
"She is old enough to learn." The bald man said dismissively. "Get her out, Aveli."  
  
The man on the left, the one named Aveli, walked over to the car, reached inside, and pulled out a struggling teenage girl.  
  
"Oh, Tess, no." Monica whispered.  
  
"Keep watching, Miss Wings. There's more to see."  
  
The angels watched as Aveli drug the crying girl from the car and threw her to the ground. He struck her in the face with the butt of the rifle.  
  
Tess felt Andrew and Monica flinch as the girl cried out in pain. Aveli was shouting something at her.  
  
"Her name is Alexis Mereldi. She's sixteen. The balding man, Thomas, is her father. He has been involved with the mafia since he was in his early twenties. About seventeen years ago, he kidnapped the mayor's daughter. Thomas raped her. After the child was born, he murdered the mother. Unfortunately, the child was a girl. So she was condemned to sixteen years of neglect and abuse."  
  
Monica shut her eyes, helpless, as Aveli kicked Alexis hard in the face. Tears streamed down her face. She leaned against Andrew, who also had tears in his eyes.  
  
"Oh, Tess. Please. Why must we watch this?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Babies, but it's important you watch this. It's important you understand. We're running out of time."  
  
Monica looked despondently at Tess. "Is that why Andrew..."  
  
Her voice trailed off.  
  
"Not just Andrew, Miss Wings. It'll be a blessing if Andrew is the one who might take her."  
  
Andrew looked at Tess. "What, Tess? What are you talking about?"  
  
But as Andrew looked from Tess' grim face to the face of the pleading, crying girl, he understood.  
  
"No. Tess, no."  
  
"We don't have much time." Tess said.  
  
She took one last look at the crumpled figure of Alexis Mereldi. Blood and tears mixed together on her face and ran down her cheeks. Without saying another word, Tess turned and walked away. Andrew and Monica followed. 


	2. Chapter Two

Alexis Mereldi walked into her first period history class two days later to find a strange face. Andrew smiled at her.

"Good morning." He said. "You must be Miss Mereldi?"

Alexis nodded. "Not to be rude, sir," she said "but who are you?"

Andrew grinned apologetically.

"Sorry. My name is Andrew. I'm in for Mrs. Anderson. She's gone to visit her niece, who recently gave birth to a little boy."

Alexis shrugged. "Okay. Hi, Andrew."

Alexis went to her seat, silently praying that Andrew hadn't noticed the poorly concealed cuts and bruises on her face and neck. But Andrew did noticed, and he grimaced, remembering how she got them. He stood up.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Andrew. According to a note left by Mrs. Anderson, your class left off discussing the main causes of World War One. Can anyone tell me the four main causes of WWI? You, in the back." Andrew looked at the seating chart. "Danny?"

The boy named Danny lowered his hand. "Well, sir, the four main causes of WWI were the forces off Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism."

"Excellent, Danny." Andrew said, smiling. "You get a point for participation."

Alexis rolled her eyes at Danny.

"All right, class" Andrew said "who can tell me how Militarism helped lead to WWI?"

A girl in the front raised her hand. Andrew again consulted the seating chart.

"Yes, Mandy?"

"Militarism helped lead to WWI because neighboring countries in Europe..."

Alexis, bored, put her head on the desk and dozed off. About fifteen minutes later, Andrew gently shook her arm.

"Wake up," he said softly.

Alexis sat up, relieved to see that he wasn't angry.

"Sorry, sir." She mumbled.

Andrew smiled benignly. "Not at all. It happens to the best of us." He gave her a quick wink. "Actually, I was hoping you could answer the next question for me. How did Imperialism help lead to WWI?"

Alexis averted her gaze and thought for a moment.

"The force of Imperialism is a highly significant cause of WWI because it ties closely with the other three main causes. In the act of Imperialism, a country takes over another country for the purpose of exploiting the country. Such as the French in Italy. When the Italians tried to evict the French, it led to a bloody standoff. It was also the birth of the Mafia. Actually, the name Mafia cam from the first letter of each word in the Mafia slogan: _'Mort a Francia in Italia.' 'Death to the French in Italy.'_ Imperialism in other countries by the European superpowers led to similar situations in other countries."

Andrew beamed. "Correct," he said "Two points for participation."

When the bell rang, the class began picking up their belongings and leaving.

"Alexis, wait. May I have a word with you, please?" Andrew said

'_He knows,' _she thought.

"What is it, Andrew?"

Andrew sat on the desk. "I wanted to ask you about those cuts and bruises on your face. What happened?"

"Nothing." Alexis lied, "I fell is all."

Andrew frowned, unconvinced. He knew however, that he could not contradict her, because she could not know he had been at the warehouse that night.

"Where'd you fall?" Andrew asked

"An old building down the road from where I live." She said dismissively "I got a bit careless, and I fell."

"You really should be careful," Andrew said, "Those cuts and bruises look pretty serious. You're lucky you didn't break anything."

"Well, what can I say?"

The second bell rang.

"Damn," Alexis muttered.

"I'll walk you to your nest class," Andrew told her.

Neither spoke on the way to Mr. Hart's Geometry class. When they got to the door, Andrew turned to her.

"If you need someone to talk to, Alexis," Andrew said, "I'm here."

"Thanks," she mumbled. She pushed the door opened and walked in.

Andrew sighed and turned away, shaking his head. Monica stood there behind him, invisible to human eyes.

"How did it go, Andrew?" she asked.

Andrew shrugged. "She won't talk about it. She insists that she fell."

Monica sighed. "Yes, humans can be so stubborn. Come on, tell me what happened over coffee?"

Andrew couldn't help but laugh at his friend's request. He put his arm around her.

"Of course," he said. Arm-in-arm, Monica and Andrew walked down the hall together.


End file.
